Business stories featured on GGD News
GGD Weekly Hit List: Sept. 15
The top innovations in science and tech transforming our world this week .
Apple Releases the iPhone 15
CEO Tim Cook revealed the iPhone 15 at Apple’s Fall event; an annual show that is morphing into a global seasonal tradition. Here are the key features that stood out.
GGD Profiles: Pavegen Pavements
Profiles is where we put a spotlight on startups and entrepreneurs transforming the world. For our very first edition, we are featuring Pavegen; a company that produces renewable energy through electric floor tiles. Just by walking on a Pavegen block, you generate human kinetic energy which then gets converted into clean, off-grid electricity.
Tech Leaders Spend $800M to Build a New City
A group of Silicon Valley tycoons have been quietly buying land near San Francisco’s Bay Area. Their goal is to create a brand new city, complete with residential neighborhoods, a performing arts center, and orchards with over a million trees planted. Key investors include Reid Hoffman (the CEO of LinkedIn), Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, and former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. The development project is being carried out by Flannery Associates, led by Jan Sramek a former finance whiz kid and Goldman Sachs trader. Over the past five years, the firm (created by the investor group) has been purchasing land near San Francisco and Silicon Valley in Solano County.
Urbanista’s Light Powered Speaker Drops
The Swedish audio company Urbanista just released its latest Bluetooth speaker; the Urbanista Malibu. Powered through light, the wireless speaker doesn’t need to be plugged in to recharge; and can be used indoors or outdoors. The Urbanista Malibu is made from recycled plastics and fibers, and uses Powerfoyle solar cell technology to function.
After Backlash, Zoom Revamps its AI Policy
After publicizing new AI standards, Zoom has scrambled to updated its Terms of Service (TOS) twice. In late July, the video conferencing company added Artificial Intelligence terms that would require access to “Customer Content” (transcript data from video and audio calls). At first, Zoom didn’t give users the opportunity to option out.